THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #69-70

Mantlo is on a hot streak with this book—perhaps because Roger Stern is forcing him to raise his game by writing one of the best Amazing Spider-Man runs of all time?

Putting to one side the stilted “black dialogue” of the thugs and criminals, this is a solid story taking the 1980s anti-drug sentiment to a new level by two street urchins be transformed by illegal drugs into two Punisher-style vigilantes hell-bent on destroying all pushers and traffickers.

They follow the drugs up the chain until they reach mob-boss Silverman, and kill him.

Except that they don’t. His gang retrieves his near-dead body and put it into a robotic shell, giving him super strength and the ability to fight Cloak and Dagger. Spider-Man tries to stop the kids from becoming killers, as well as stop Silvermane from killing the kids. It’s a nice three-way battle—and Ed Hannigan is truly at the top of his game.

At the end, Spider-Man lectures the teens about committing murder.

Kingpin is tagged here because he appears briefly to tell Spidey where to find Silvermane—part of his divide and conquer mentality.
Creators: Bill Mantlo and Ed Hannigan
Grade: B-
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